An O'Brien Family Christmas (22 page)

On the ride to the church, Nell glanced over at her son and decided it was time to get things out in the open once and for all.

“Mick, as long as we have a few minutes, there are some things we need to discuss,” she said. She glanced toward Megan and saw her give an encouraging nod.

Mick regarded her with dismay. “This is about Dillon, I assume.”

“It is.”

“And you want to spoil Christmas Eve by having this conversation now?”

“Earlier you seemed full of holiday cheer and goodwill. I’m hoping that will extend to this.”

Megan gave him a warning look. “Listen to her, Mick. For once, don’t think of yourself or even the family. Listen to what your mother wants for herself.”

He frowned at both of them. “Are the two of you in cahoots, then?”

“I haven’t said a word to Megan,” Nell assured him.

“Okay, fine,” he grumbled. “Let’s put all our cards on the table. I’m not happy about what I’ve seen going on.”

Nell smiled. “And what is it you think you’ve seen? Two old friends getting reacquainted? Is there something wrong with that?”

“Of course not, but I’ve seen the looks between you,” Mick said. “There’s no denying that there’s something more there.”

“I hope so,” Nell said. “But we’ve not discussed it, and we’ve certainly made no decisions. If and when that happens, I promise you’ll be the first to know.”

Mick gave her a resigned look. “Then you’ll stay right here in Dublin if he asks?”

“I don’t know what I’ll do,” Nell admitted. “But it’s nice to know that at my age, I might have the option of finding happiness with someone. Someday you’ll understand what a blessing that is. In fact, you should understand it now, since you’ve only recently had Megan come back into your life. Can you deny your days are richer because of it?”

“Of course not,” Mick replied.

Megan chuckled and reached for his hand. “Good answer.”

Mick only frowned. “Well, if Dillon hasn’t asked anything and you haven’t decided anything, then why are we even talking about this?” he asked irritably.

“Because I want you to fire that investigator you hired,” she said, holding his gaze until he looked chagrined. “Yes, I know all about that, and I find it insulting. You’re behaving as if I haven’t a brain in my head.”

“Come on, Ma, it’s my job to look after you.”

She placed a hand on his arm. “Mick, I know you’ve taken it as your duty ever since your father died to look after me, just as you’ve looked after your children, but I’m not one of them. I’m your mother, and I think we can agree that I’ve done nothing over the years to make you think I’m not strong, capable and smart.”

“And wise,” Megan added.

“Thank you,” Nell said.

“I never denied any of that,” Mick said. “You’re all of those things.”

“But you’re behaving as if none of it is true,” Nell said. “Fire the investigator, Mick. I insist on it. And tomorrow, when Dillon and his family join us, treat them with more than courtesy.”

Mick’s frown deepened. “Meaning what? Have I been anything less than polite to them since our first meeting?”

“No, you’ve minded your manners very diligently,” she admitted. “But I’d like to see you spend time with them with an open heart. You might actually find that you like them.”

Mick looked skeptical. “Even that Moira girl?”

Nell laughed. “Even her. She could be a part of the family a lot sooner than Dillon.”

“That’s Jeff’s worry, not mine,” Mick said with exaggerated relief. “If I were him, I’d have a serious talk with Luke before things get out of hand.”

“Well, fortunately for Luke, you’re not his father,” Nell said. “And I’ll thank you to remember that and keep your opinion to yourself.”

Mick sighed and gave her a rueful look. “You’re taking all the fun out of this for me.”

“And the worry, too, I hope,” Nell said. “Things have a way of working out as they should without any help from you.”

“Amen to that,” Megan said. She gave her husband’s hand a squeeze. “Perhaps you could spend all of this spare time you’ll suddenly have focusing on me.”

Mick gave her a lingering look that slowly brightened. “I imagine I could do that.”

“There now,” Nell said with satisfaction. “It’s turning out to be a happy Christmas, just the way we all envisioned it to be.”

Mick didn’t look entirely convinced, but she had high hopes she’d made her point and that he’d leave her free to follow whatever path promised the greatest happiness.

Matthew knew that Laila was rattled by his failure to propose at some point during the day. He’d seen a hint of disappointment in her eyes earlier in the afternoon when they’d been alone in his room, putting gifts into bags for tomorrow’s celebration. He’d seen it again tonight when Jess and Will had joined them for the walk to the church for Christmas Eve Mass. Exactly as he’d hoped, she seemed to be anticipating the proposal now, rather than dreading it.

And he was more than ready to go for broke, to stake his claim for the future he wanted with her. He’d cleared the last hurdle earlier when he’d talked to Mick about having Jaime take over the on-site management for the Florida project. He had the rest of the plan all worked out in his head, kept going over it even as the carols reverberated in the old church and the priest’s words echoed. As he gazed around the candlelit interior, he couldn’t help imagining Laila walking down the center aisle toward him. Lost in the images, he hoped God would forgive him for his lack of attentiveness just this once, and asked His blessing for what he had planned for later.

By the end of the service he should have been jittery with nerves, but he was suddenly calm and eager to take this next step in his relationship with Laila.

As they left the church amid wishes for a happy Christmas from complete strangers, Gram, his parents, Mick and Megan left for the hotel in the car Mick had arranged for them. The rest of them chose to walk back through the now-deserted streets, past darkened shops lit only by Christmas lights twinkling in the windows. Shanna had remained at the hotel with the smallest children, but Caitlyn, Carrie, Henry and Davy were practically bouncing with excitement, and chattering about everything they hoped Santa would leave for them.

Eventually Matthew fell into step beside Laila. A warning glance at Jess had her and Will quickly moving on, leaving the two of them to straggle along alone behind all the others. The sounds of the children’s high-pitched voices faded.

Apparently aware of the look he’d cast at Jess and the increasing distance between themselves and the rest of the family, Laila regarded him with suspicion. “What’s up with that scowl you gave Jess and Will, Matthew? No holiday spirit?”

“My holiday spirit is just fine,” he said, considering it a bad sign that her mood had darkened and she’d already managed to put him on the defensive. “I thought maybe we could take a walk around the park. I’m not ready for bed just yet. How about you?”

She didn’t seem impressed by the suggestion. “It’s practically the middle of the night and you want to go for a stroll?”

“It’s not as if we haven’t walked around Chesapeake Shores at this hour,” he reminded her. “Of course, on those occasions, you’d just scrambled out of my bed to make it safely home in the dark of night so no one would guess we were sleeping together.”

She had the grace to wince at the reminder. “I know it seemed foolish and probably even demeaning to you, but I thought it was prudent. I’ve told you before that I’m sorry.”

He realized this conversation was heading in the wrong direction fast. “No point in rehashing all of that,” he said quickly. “What’s done is done. It’s time to move forward.”

She studied him curiously. “What exactly are you proposing?”

Matthew fought a smile at her choice of words. He gestured toward a bench on the fringe of the park. “Sit here and I’ll explain.”

“Matthew, haven’t you noticed that it’s freezing out here? The temperature must have dropped twenty degrees since we left for church.”

“If you’ll just cooperate, this won’t take that long,” he retorted with exasperation.

“Cooperate how?” she asked testily.

Given how badly this seemed to be going, he wondered if he should reconsider, but he didn’t want to give up just yet on the plan he’d envisioned.

“By not asking so many questions, for starters,” he said with a touch of impatience. “For once can’t you just take it on faith that what I have to say is important?”

It suddenly seemed to dawn on her what was going on. Eyes wide, she dutifully sat on the edge of the bench.

Matthew stood in front of her, his expression solemn as he prepared to get down on one knee. He’d hoped for a little moonlight to set the scene, but clouds seemed to have filled the sky and blocked it.

And then the rain began to fall. Not just a light drizzle, but a deluge. He could talk fast or risk pneumonia for both of them. Apparently this proposal of his wasn’t meant to go smoothly or to be half as romantic as he’d intended. That was either a challenge or an omen. He preferred to think of it as the former.

“Never mind,” he said, grabbing her hand. “Let’s make a dash for it before we’re soaked through. We’ll finish this at the hotel.”

Though they both had long legs and a powerful motivation, there was no way to escape being soaked to the skin by the time they reached the lobby.

“Gee, that was fun,” Laila said, laughing as they ran, dripping, past the horrified doorman and straight to the elevators.

When the elevator reached Laila’s floor, Matthew exited with her and went straight to her room, then held out his hand for the key card.

“Tonight, with both of us looking like drowned rats, you want to come in?” she said, regarding him incredulously.

“We haven’t finished talking,” he said stubbornly, determined not to let a downpour steal this opportunity from him.

“Don’t you want to dry off first?”

“I’ll do that in your room,” he said. “This place has plenty of towels on hand. I’m sure you can spare one for me.”

She frowned but didn’t argue. “I get the shower first,” she declared instead.

Since those were the first promising words out of her mouth in a while, he nodded. “It’s only fair,” he said agreeably.

Inside, she tossed him a towel, then gulped as he immediately began stripping off his wet clothes. He glanced up and saw her throat working. “Something bothering you?” he asked.

Her cheeks flushed. “It’s not that I’m not appreciative of the show, but what do you think you’re doing?”

“Drying off,” he said simply. “You should be, too.” He noticed then that she didn’t seem to be looking away. In fact, her gaze seemed to be pretty intense. It was yet another positive sign, and after weeks of abstinence, he was ready to seize such signs whenever they appeared.

“Laila? Are you sure there’s not something on your mind?” He could only pray it was the same thing that was on his. The whole proposal plan had been wiped out by the sudden urgency of his desire to get her into that king-size bed across the room. All of the reasons that had been holding them back suddenly seemed unimportant.

“This is a really bad idea,” she murmured, mostly to herself.

“This?”

“You and I getting naked in the same room,” she said, though there was no mistaking the desire darkening her eyes.

His lips curved. “Seems to me as if it’s the best idea either of us has had in a long time,” he contradicted. “Let me help you with those wet clothes.”

She shook her head, even as her gaze locked with his and she stepped forward, almost within reach.

“I’m getting mixed signals here,” he told her, even as he began to close the distance between them.

“Believe me, I know,” she said, shedding her coat to pool at her feet.

He waited, breath held, to make sure he wasn’t mistaking her intentions. Her blouse and skirt followed until she was standing before him in only a lacy bra and matching panties that left most of her amazing body in full view.

Hand shaking, he touched the tip of her breast, felt the nipple immediately harden. He closed his eyes as a powerful, familiar need ripped through him.

“If you don’t want this, Laila, you need to say so now.”

“You’re the one who’s been saying no repeatedly,” she reminded him with a slight curve of her lips.

“I’ve reconsidered.”

“I’m glad,” she said softly.

Without so much as a second’s hesitation, she closed the remaining distance between them, linked her fingers behind his neck and lifted her mouth to his. The kiss was long, greedy and hot, an unmistakable invitation.

Thank goodness.

He might have to put his proposal on hold till morning, if the night went the way he was anticipating, but this was the kind of delay he could get totally behind.

14

“H
appy Christmas,” Laila murmured into Matthew’s ear just after dawn on Christmas morning.

“Happy doesn’t begin to describe it,” he said, smiling.

“Don’t be smug. We’ve always known that this isn’t the problem between us.”

“There are no problems between us,” he corrected. “Just way too much outside interference.”

She chuckled. “I wonder if my parents would like being referred to as
outside interference.
”

“It would probably make them nuts,” Matthew conceded. “But they’re not here right now. I say we should make the most of it.”

Laila moaned softly. “I’m not sure I have the stamina left for that. Besides, we’re probably expected downstairs. Given how excited the kids were last night, they probably haven’t slept a wink. They’re going to want to open presents soon.”

“This is more important,” Matthew told her. He sat up, plumped up the piles of down pillows, then pulled her up next to him. “Remember that talk I wanted to have last night?”

“The one that almost got us drowned?” she said, amusement threading through her voice. “I remember.”

“I planned to have it here once we’d dried off, but then someone distracted me,” he reminded her.

“You were the one who stripped off his clothes,” she countered.